4th Cebu-Mactan bridge feasibility completed, now up for NEDA approval

Sample picture of the artist’s perspective of the 4th Mandaue-Mactan Bridge Project across the channel to anticipate future traffic demand between mainland Cebu and Mactan Island.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Hopes are now up for the realization of a fourth bridge connecting mainland Cebu and Mactan island. 

Engineer Nonato Paylado, chief of the Planning and Design Division of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH – 7), confirmed to Cebu Daily News Digital that the feasibility study for the 4th Cebu-Mactan Bridge is already complete. 

Read: 4TH BRIDGE TO START NEXT YEAR

“The feasibility study is already complete. It was completed last November 2019, and our department has already submitted it before the technical board of Neda (National Economic Development Authority),” Paylado said in an interview.  

Paylado also said that based on the initial feedback from Neda’s technical group, the project is feasible for implementation.

“The technical board of Neda said that more or less they approved the project. So, they will be endorsing it further to the Neda-ICC (Investment Coordination Committee),” he added.

The 402-meter linear bridge project is composed of two components: the bridge itself, and a coastal road called the Mandaue Coastal Road.

The fourth bridge is expected to help motorists from the northern parts of Cebu get to Mactan Island faster.

Currently, those from the north use the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, also known as the second bridge, to get to Mactan Island. The two other bridges connecting mainland Cebu to Mactan island are the Sergio Osmeña Bridge (Old Mandaue-Mactan Bridge), and the Cebu-Cordova Bridge (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway), which is currently being constructed and is due to finish in 2021.

JICA, together with DPWH, leads the implementation of the feasibility study and the project itself which is pegged to cost approximately US$57.69 million or roughly P3 billion. The agency will also grant funds for the project’s construction through a P3-billion loan.

Latest data from DPWH showed that it is targeted to be completed by 2024.

Paylado said actual civil works of the project will only commence after they have finalized the Detailed Engineering Design (DED) stage. Project proponents can start the DED stage once the Neda-ICC officially approves the implementation. 

“Once we reach the DED stage, we will be revisiting the feasibility study to have it refined. The results then will be our basis for the civil works of the bridge and its components,” said Paylado. 

The DPWH – 7 official also said they are positive the Neda-ICC will give the greenlight for the project.

“We are positive this will be approved by NEDA since it’s one of the projects being eyed to help alleviate traffic woes in Metro Cebu,”  he added. 

The Neda-ICC is composed of the Executive Secretary, secretaries of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Budget and Management, and governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as its members. 

The committee is chaired by the Finance secretary and co-chaired by NEDA’s director-general. 

According to Paylado, the feasibility study covered the selection of the project’s alignment.

“This project has two components – the bridge and the Mandaue Coastal Road. There are several alignments identified and in the feasibility study, it was determined which is the most feasible – in terms of addressing its social, environmental, technical, financial, and even economical aspects. That was the scope of the study,” added Paylado.

The 4th Cebu-Mactan bridge is part of the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program, which brings a total cost of P4.2 trillion pesos. 

The Metro Cebu Expressway, a 73-kilometer highway that will connect Naga City in the south and Danao City in the north, is also under the government’s flagship program, and whose implementation is currently ongoing. /bmjo